End of a decade

I entered the new decade and millennium in an ambulance ride along. It was very uneventful night in emergency services! Although that night was low key, the years to follow have been anything but. I thought I'd list my most memorable events over the last ten years. They are joyful, terrifying and heartbreaking. ( Not in chronological order)

1) Our marriage in 2002
2)Our honeymoon to England
3) Sept. 11
4)The death of baby Hope Toomey
5) Surviving a pulmonary embolism
6) Diagnosis of Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome
7) 3 miscarriages
8) The birth of Alex and Aaron
9)My crazy/scary pregnancy with Alex
10) Diagnosis of Cyclic Neutropenia
11)The ends and beginnings of many friendships
12) Our many vacations
13) The flood of 2009
14)The adoption and loss of several pets
15) Our first house

Tonight we aren't doing anything special to ring in the new year. I think we will watch a movie or play chess. We are having a fun kid friendly meal of pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese. Alex isn't a fan of mac and cheese, so I'll be making an adult version. I suspect the pigs in a blanket should be a big hit.

So, goodbye to a decade and 2009. May goodness and humanity find some way to prevail in this ever crazy and changing world!

'tis the season

I got a nice surprise on Thursday....Paul doesn't go back to work until after the first of the year!!! I knew he had the week after Christmas off, but I didn't realize he had this week off, too. It's kind of been a tradition that he takes off all the Fridays in Dec (this used to be a bigger deal when he didn't normally get off at 12 on Fridays) and the week after Christmas. It's always a lot of fun. Sometimes we rent movies or work on house projects. This year possibilities are endless. I could read my magazines that have piled up since Oct. 28th, crochet, embroider, organize my recipes...the list goes on and on.

We kicked off the "vacation" by taking Alex to McDonald's for lunch on Friday. This might not seem like much to most people but that was only the 2nd Happy Meal he has ever had. Plus we let him play in the playland * and the world collectively cringes*....I know...we are askin' for sick child.

Speaking of sickness, Alex never misses an opportunity to work his mojo on the ladies. Paul took him to get his H1N1 shot on Thursday night. I guess he really hammed it up. He didn't cry but announced, "I did it!" and continued to wave at the people and tell them he did it. :)

Here are some pics that I promised:

Festivities and Smiles

Wow, almost a month since my last post! Guess I better put down the bon-bon bucket and do something productive! :)

Where to start....well, Dec 6th was Aaron's baptism. It was a fun weekend. Grandpa Bede and Grandma Rose made the trip down and this was their first time meeting Aaron. Of course, Alex was psyched! Rose and I were in the kitchen most of Saturday trying to prepare for the next day, so Paul and Grandpa spent most of the time entertaining Alex. I wasn't planning an all afternoon/evening cook fest, but I had a little trouble with the cake. In fact, lately I seem to be having lots of trouble with many things. I feel like Aaron gets the short end of the stick...but I guess it's not on the things that really matter. For instance, Alex's cake was cut in the shape of a cross and decorated, and well,....take a peek ...I'm almost too embarrassed to post this. I had some issues with frosting the first cake, so I decided to let Alex take over. At 9:00 pm the last thing I wanted to do was go all out on cake decorating.

On Thursday night we went to Santa's Village. As we got to Santa my battery died in my camera, and I didn't have the back up battery! Ugh. So, one terrible picture of Alex with Santa later and NO picture of Aaron with Santa and we were on our way.

Friday we ventured out around Perham, MN to cut down our Christmas tree. This has been an annual event for 4 years now. I thought we'd try a different sort of tree...it looked full and beautiful. However, it hurts like you know what!!!! I refused to help with the lights last night because I kept getting poked . After a couple of pokes, I was having trouble controlling my mouth... I thought it was best I just took pictures. :) Alex had fun wandering through the trees. It took quite a while with him. He stopped to carry "trees" (branches) and then when he saw just a stump from an already chopped down tree he would bend over and yell "Tree fall over...are you alright tree?? Are you alright???" Then he started waving and saying "Hi Alex" to his shadow. It took me a little bit to figure out what in the world he was doing. I'm glad I bundled us both up because we would have been popsicles at the rate we were going.

Sunday was an exciting day. Aaron gave us his first non-gassy smiles. He's is such a little chunk. Alex has picked up on this and calls him our chunky baby....I prefer chunky monkey. :) He's in that old man looking stage....you know, where they lose their hair. I loved his dark hair, so I hope it comes back in just as dark. Alex and I made gingerbread cut outs. His favorite part was decorating

I seem to be bit behind with Christmas. We are still pulling out decorations. I have a few more gifts to get and my big holiday baking plans are extremely minimal this year. I figure I have a good excuse. Next year should be less hectic!

I'll try to post more pics soon.

I surrender...kind of

to you, Member's Mark formula maker! After a long weekend of recording all sorts of information, the lactation consultant told me I was a low milk producer. My only option was taking a pill that can cause a disorder that may or may not be reversible....as if I don't have enough medical problems. :) She then told me she was sure I did everything I could to make it work but some milk was better than nothing....and good luck. I'm all for breastfeeding and lactation consultants can be very helpful; however, they need to learn how to encourage and be supportive of mothers that really want to nurse but aren't able. There is a lot of guilt and failure a mother feels when her body doesn't do what it's meant to do. They tend to make formula feeding seem like the greatest of all evils. The consultant pretty much brushed me off after deciding that I probably wouldn't breastfeed exclusively.

I decided I would continue to nurse with what I have and always follow with formula. I assume my supply will continue as long as it is being used. I guess it's the best of both worlds??!! I was very happy to put away the pump. It is nice to be able to split the feedings with Paul at night. I actually get several hours of sleep! I can tell that Aaron is gaining his weight back. I'm excited to see what he weighs tomorrow.

This week has gone okay. Last night we got one of the best gifts. My cousin-in-law brought over a complete meal for us. We had pizza burgers (enough for two meals at least), pasta salad, fruit salad, dessert, and zucchini bread for breakfast this a.m. It was so nice to not have to worry about a meals for a while. Alex must be feeling a little attention deprived. At night he asks me to hold him a lot and wants to be carried. I'm not supposed to lift, but I carry him every once in a while. As for the holding, I really enjoy that part. It won't be too long until he won't want Mom. :)

Frustration

We had Aaron's two week doctor appt on Friday. Everything went well except he has not gained weight since we left the hospital. He is still 5 1/2 pounds. I knew he still looked small, but I didn't realize he wasn't growing. I've had to start supplementing him in addition to breastfeeding. I was really disappointed about having to do this because babies can become lazy and prefer the instant gratification of a bottle. The plan is to get a little fat on Aaron and then take away the supplementing and let him just nurse. I'm not too sure that's going to be the outcome. I've been in contact with the lactation specialist. Hopefully she can help me through this. I have a routine that I have to follow, and I've also started drinking raspberry leaf tea to boost my supply! Alex was a mostly a formula baby, and he's a pretty smart little cookie which helps ease my mind.

Tomorrow will be the first big test of my sanity. I will have no help this week! YIKES!!! I wouldn't be too worried if Alex hadn't come down with something. He's been running a temp of 102. This afternoon and evening have been terrible.

As far as Alex's interaction with Aaron....well, so far so good! There are times I can tell Alex feels a little left out....mostly when I'm nursing. He tries to be a very helpful big brother. I hope things continue to go well.

Aaron William

He's here!! Aaron William Frank was born Oct 28 at 11:11 am. We weighed in at 6lbs 1oz and was 18" long. It was so nice be able to see him for little bit before being taken to the nursery which was something I didn't have with Alex. The c-section went much better this time. I let Paul pick his name again. I didn't find out what his name was until I was in my room recovering. I had to ask "So, what's my son's name?" :) Aaron doesn't look much like Alex did. It appears that Aaron has more my face/head shape and maybe more of Paul's facial features. This is somewhat opposite of Alex.

We were only allowed to have immediate family members visit due to all the flu stuff. I knew this before going in and had been bummed. It actually turned out to be a wonderful thing. We got to have very intimate family bonding time which was priceless. Although, I wish Alex could have been there. It was hard not seeing him for 3 days.

We got to come home Saturday. We were late getting released due to my medical stuff, so Saturday was a whirlwind. Alex was asleep when we got home. He's always a bit cranky after waking up, so he wasn't as excited to see me as I was him. He took to Aaron right away. He's always wanting to hold Aaron and give him kisses. He loves pointing out his body parts, but he hasn't quite gotten the be gentle part down. We have to remind him and also that he can't carry Aaron around. Last night he told Aaron to hold his hand and walk with him to bed. It was so cute. We told him those were all things he'd have to teach Aaron as he got bigger.

Paul is home this week and it's flying by. :( I'm able to feed Aaron which is a new experience. Sleep deprivation hasn't set in yet, but last night was crazy. I'm hoping tonight is smoother. I seem to be much more emotional after this pregnancy. I cried most of Sunday and yesterday I cried just once. Paul keeps reassuring me that it's just all my hormones, and the emotions will even out soon. I seem to be missing the anticipation/euphoria of the birth and the days after Aaron was born. Plus, just thinking how quickly they grow up....you just can't get those days back, so I want to soak up every moment so I can remember those feelings 40 years from now! :) Paul tells me that growing up is what they are meant to do, but he understands for the most part. Thankfully he's very supportive and reassuring. We both just started laughing as I started bawling while cooking last night! Poor Alex gets a little confused when I cry. Paul tried explaining that sometimes people cry when they are happy. So, Alex asks me now " Momma cry...Momma happy????"

The BIG Day

Just got back from my ultrasound/appt. We are having the baby tomorrow!!!! I'm still a little shocked. The baby looks great this time, but my fluid is very low and the placenta is breaking down. My doc says with all my issues she couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy. Since I'm just past 37 weeks she says it time to roll.

Paul seemed a bit dazed when I told him. I'm hoping he made it back to work ok?!?!

I'll keep you posted!!!! :)